'If you're open on Thanksgiving, it's hard not to pitch yourself as a greedy bastard': REI's CEO reveals why closing on Black Friday is a smart business move

• REI will close all of its stores on Black Friday, a definitive departure from retailers like Walmart and Target that kick off Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving Day.
• CEO Jerry Stritzke told Business Insider that closing on Black Friday is the right ethical decision and a smart business move, even as competitors open earlier.
• "If you're open on Thanksgiving, it's hard not to pitch yourself as a greedy bastard," Stritzke said.

As REI plans to shut its doors for another Black Friday, its CEO says that the movement to close on Thanksgiving and the following day is gaining steam.

"It's the right ethical move. It's the right business move," CEO Jerry Stritzke told Business Insider. "I think retail for brands is about community. ... The ability for a brand to meet these primal, important needs that serve as a basis of community is phenomenally powerful and a unique competitive position."

Stritzke says that when REI first closed down all of its stores on Black Friday in 2015, it was seen as a risky decision. At the time, major retailers like Walmart and Target were increasingly moving to open stores earlier on Thanksgiving Day, not close them down for 48 hours.

REI

REI workers and customers are encouraged to #OptOutside.




However, the pendulum is now swinging in the other direction, Stritzke says, as more than 700 organizations have joined REI's #OptOutside campaign.

Hundreds of stores have permanently shuttered across the country as companies have struggled to win over shoppers. And, many of those same retailers have faced backlash for making the decision to open for Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving.

"It's a completely different landscape today," Stritzke said.

"If you're open on Thanksgiving, it's hard not to pitch yourself as a greedy bastard," he added.

Many retailers, Stritzke argues, have put themselves in an uncomfortable position by competing purely on value. Winning customers based solely on lower prices or opening earlier, he says, builds a transactional relationship - one that can easily be undercut and leave retailers scrambling or bankrupt.

REI

REI tries to build customer loyalty.




So, REI is leaning harder than ever in the opposite direction, as far away from the "greedy bastard" reputation as possible.

All 153 stores will close on Black Friday. REI's store will not process online payments. Employees will receive a paid day off. And, this year, REI is pledging $1 million to help launch a center of academic excellence at the University of Washington, aiming to study the link between health and time spent outdoors.

Even with the donation and lost sales, Stritzke says the #OptOutside campaign is a smart business decision. REI uses a cooperative model, meaning customers can pay $20 to become lifetime members and part-owners of the company. In 2015, the first year the company closed for Black Friday, REI posted its largest-ever membership growth, and it increased revenue by 9.3% to $2.4 billion.

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